Substrate processing apparatus

ABSTRACT

A substrate processing apparatus includes a frame and a transport apparatus connected to the frame. The transport apparatus has an upper arm link, a forearm link rotatably coupled to the upper arm link about an elbow axis, at least a third arm link rotatably coupled to the forearm about a wrist axis, and an end effector rotatably coupled to the third arm link about a knuckle axis. A two degree of freedom drive system is operably connected to at least one of the upper arm link, the forearm link, and the third arm link for effecting extension and retraction of the end effector wherein a height of the end effector is within the stack height profile of the wrist axis so that a total stack height of the end effector and wrist axis is sized to conform within a pass through of a slot valve.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a non-provisional of and claims the benefit of U.S.provisional patent application No. 62/678,963 filed on May 31, 2018, thedisclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

The exemplary embodiments generally relate to automated processingequipment, and more particularly, to substrate transport apparatus.

2. Brief Description of Related Developments

Generally, a distance a substrate transport apparatus is allowed toextend through a transport chamber gate valve into a processing moduleis limited by the size of the gate valve. Generally, only the endeffector extends through the gate valve while the remainder of thesubstrate transport apparatus arm remains within the transport chamber.

It would be advantageous to transport a substrate through a transportchamber gate valve so that at least a portion of the arm link(s)supporting the end effector extend through the gate valve to provide fora greater reach into a processing module coupled to the transportchamber gate valve.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing aspects and other features of the disclosed embodiment areexplained in the following description, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGS. 1A-1D are schematic illustrations of substrate processingapparatus in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiment;

FIGS. 1E and 1F are schematic illustrations of portions of the substrateprocessing apparatus of FIGS. 1A-1D in accordance with aspects of thedisclosed embodiment;

FIGS. 1G-1M are schematic illustrations of substrate processingapparatus in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiment;

FIGS. 2A-2D are schematic illustrations of portions of substratetransport drive sections in accordance with aspects of the disclosedembodiment;

FIGS. 3A-3D are schematic illustrations of a substrate transportapparatus in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiment;

FIGS. 4A-4E are schematic illustrations of portions of a substratetransport apparatus in accordance with aspects of the disclosedembodiment;

FIGS. 5A-5F are exemplary illustrations of an extension/retractionsequence of a substrate transport apparatus in accordance with aspectsof the disclosed embodiment;

FIGS. 6A-6E are schematic illustrations of a substrate transportapparatus in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of an exemplary operation of a substratetransport apparatus in accordance with aspects of the disclosedembodiment; and

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of an exemplary method in accordance withaspects of the disclosed embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1A-1M are schematic illustrations of substrate processingapparatus in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiment.Although the aspects of the disclosed embodiment will be described withreference to the drawings, it should be understood that the aspects ofthe disclosed embodiment can be embodied in many forms. In addition, anysuitable size, shape or type of elements or materials could be used.

The aspects of the disclosed embodiment provide for methods andapparatus that effect transfer of substrates with a transport arm to andfrom a deep set substrate holding station of a processing module where,at least a third arm link (also referred to as a truncated arm link), ofthe transport arm, that has a knuckle axis of rotation provides thetransport arm with a longer reach than a conventional transport armhaving equal or unequal arm links as will be described in further detailbelow. The truncated arm link is coupled to a forearm of the transportarm at a wrist axis (also referred to as a wrist joint) and is sized,with the forearm and end effector coupled to the truncated arm link, soas to have a stack height that allows the wrist axis to pass through agate valve pass through or port of the processing module. The wristpassing through the gate valve port provides for a portion of theforearm, the wrist axis, the truncated arm link and at least a portionof the end effector to extend within the processing chamber foraccessing the deep set substrate holding station of the processingmodule.

The processing apparatus 100A, 100B, 100C, 100D, 100E, 100F, 100G, 100Hsuch as for example a semiconductor tool station, is shown in accordancewith aspects of the disclosed embodiment. Although a semiconductor toolstation is shown in the drawings, the aspects of the disclosedembodiment described herein can be applied to any tool station orapplication employing torque couplings. In one aspect the processingapparatus 100A, 100B, 100C, 100D, 100E, 100F, 100G, 100H, 100I are shownas having cluster tool arrangements (e.g., having substrate holdingstations connected to a central chamber) while in other aspects theprocessing apparatus may be a linearly arranged tool 100L, 100M, asdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,398,355, entitled “Linearly DistributedSemiconductor Workpiece Processing Tool,” issued Mar. 19, 2013 (thedisclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety); however the aspects of the disclosed embodiment may beapplied to any suitable tool station. The apparatus 100A, 100B, 100C,100D, 100E, 100F, 100G, 100H, 100I generally include an atmosphericfront end 101, at least one vacuum load lock 102, 102A, 102B, 102C and avacuum back end 103. The at least one vacuum load lock 102, 102A, 102B,102C may be coupled to any suitable port(s) or opening(s) of the frontend 101 and/or back end 103 in any suitable arrangement. For example, inone aspect the one or more load locks 102, 102A, 102B, 102C may bearranged in a common horizontal plane in a side by side arrangement ascan be seen in FIGS. 1B-1D and 1G-1K. In other aspects the one or moreload locks may be arranged in a grid format such that at least two loadlocks 102A, 102B, 102C, 102D are arranged in rows (e.g., having spacedapart horizontal planes) and columns (e.g., having spaced apart verticalplanes) as shown in FIG. 1E. In still other aspects the one or more loadlock may be a single in-line load lock 102 as shown in FIG. 1A. In yetanother aspect the at least one load lock 102, 102E may be arranged in astacked in-line arrangement as shown in FIG. 1F. It should be understoodthat while the load locks are illustrated on end 100E1 or facet 100F1 ofa transport chamber 125A, 125B, 125C, 125D, 125E, 125F in other aspectsthe one or more load lock may be arranged on any number of sides 100S1,100S2, ends 100E1, 100E2 or facets 100F1-100F8 of the transport chamber125A, 125B, 125C, 125D, 125E, 125F. Each of the at least one load lockmay also include one or more wafer/substrate resting planes WRP (FIG.1F) in which substrates are held on suitable supports within therespective load lock. In other aspects, the tool station may have anysuitable configuration.

The components of each of the front end 101, the at least one load lock102, 102A, 102B, 102C and back end 103 may be connected to a controller110 which may be part of any suitable control architecture such as, forexample, a clustered architecture control. The control system may be aclosed loop controller having a master controller (which in one aspectmay be controller 110), cluster controllers and autonomous remotecontrollers such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,904,182 entitled“Scalable Motion Control System” issued on Mar. 8, 2011 the disclosureof which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. In otheraspects, any suitable controller and/or control system may be utilized.

In one aspect, the front end 101 generally includes load port modules105 and a mini-environment 106 such as for example an equipment frontend module (EFEM). The load port modules 105 may be box opener/loader totool standard (BOLTS) interfaces that conform to SEMI standards E15.1,E47.1, E62, E19.5 or E1.9 for 300 mm load ports, front opening or bottomopening boxes/pods and cassettes. In other aspects, the load portmodules may be configured as 200 mm wafer/substrate interfaces, 450 mmwafer/substrate interfaces or any other suitable substrate interfacessuch as for example larger or smaller semiconductor wafers/substrates,flat panels for flat panel displays, solar panels, reticles or any othersuitable object. Although three load port modules 105 are shown in FIGS.1A-1D, 1J and 1K, in other aspects any suitable number of load portmodules may be incorporated into the front end 101.

The load port modules 105 may be configured to receive substratecarriers or cassettes C from an overhead transport system, automaticguided vehicles, person guided vehicles, rail guided vehicles or fromany other suitable transport method. The load port modules 105 mayinterface with the mini-environment 106 through load ports 107. The loadports 107 may allow the passage of substrates between the substratecassettes and the mini-environment 106. The mini-environment 106generally includes any suitable transfer robot 108 which may incorporateone or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment described herein. In oneaspect the robot 108 may be a track mounted robot such as that describedin, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,002,840 issued on Dec. 14, 1999; U.S.Pat. No. 8,419,341 issued Apr. 16, 2013; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,648,327issued on Jan. 19, 2010, the disclosures of which are incorporated byreference herein in their entireties. In other aspects the robot 108 maybe substantially similar to that described herein with respect to theback end 103. The mini-environment 106 may provide a controlled, cleanzone for substrate transfer between multiple load port modules.

The at least one vacuum load lock 102, 102A, 102B, 102C may be locatedbetween and connected to the mini-environment 106 and the back end 103.In other aspects the load ports 105 may be coupled substantiallydirectly to the at least one load lock 102, 102A, 102B, 102C or thetransport chamber 125A, 125B, 125C, 125D, 125E, 125F where the substratecarrier C is pumped down to a vacuum of the transport chamber 125A,125B, 125C, 125D and substrates are transferred directly between thesubstrate carrier C and the load lock or transfer chamber. In thisaspect, the substrate carrier C may function as a load lock such that aprocessing vacuum of the transport chamber extends into the substratecarrier C. As may be realized, where the substrate carrier C is coupledsubstantially directly to the load lock through a suitable load port anysuitable transport apparatus may be provided within the load lock orotherwise have access to the carrier C for transferring substrates toand from the substrate carrier C. It is noted that the term vacuum asused herein may denote a high vacuum such as 10⁻⁵ Torr or below in whichthe substrates are processed.

The at least one load lock 102, 102A, 102B, 102C generally includesatmospheric and vacuum slot valves. The slot valves of the load locks102, 102A, 102B (as well as for the processing stations 130) may providethe environmental isolation employed to evacuate the load lock afterloading a substrate from the atmospheric front end and to maintain thevacuum in the transport chamber when venting the lock with an inert gassuch as nitrogen. As will be described herein, the slot valves of theprocessing apparatus 100A, 100B, 100C, 100D, 100E, 100F (as well aslinear processing apparatus 100G, 100H) may be located in the sameplane, different vertically stacked planes or a combination of slotvalves located in the same plane and slot valves located in differentvertically stacked planes (as described above with respect to the loadports) to accommodate transfer of substrates to and from at least theprocessing stations 130 and load locks 102, 102A, 102B, 102C coupled tothe transport chamber 125A, 125B, 125C, 125D, 125E, 125F. The at leastone load lock 102, 102A, 102B, 102C (and/or the front end 101) may alsoinclude an aligner for aligning a fiducial of the substrate to a desiredposition for processing or any other suitable substrate metrologyequipment. In other aspects, the vacuum load lock may be located in anysuitable location of the processing apparatus and have any suitableconfiguration.

The vacuum back end 103 generally includes a transport chamber 125A,125B, 125C, 125D, 125E, 125F one or more processing station(s) ormodule(s) 130 and any suitable number of substrate transport apparatus104 that includes one or more transport robots which may include one ormore aspects of the disclosed embodiments described herein. Thetransport chamber 125A, 125B, 125C, 125D, 125E, 125F may have anysuitable shape and size that, for example, complies with SEMI standardE72 guidelines. The substrate transport apparatus 104 and the one ormore transport robot will be described below and may be located at leastpartly within the transport chamber 125A, 125B, 125C, 125D, 125E, 125Fto transport substrates between the load lock 102, 102A, 102B, 120C (orbetween a cassette C located at a load port) and the various processingstations 130. In one aspect the substrate transport apparatus 104 may beremovable from the transport chamber 125A, 125B, 125C, 125D, 125E, 125Fas modular unit such that the substrate transport apparatus 104 complieswith SEMI standard E72 guidelines.

The processing stations 130 may operate on the substrates throughvarious deposition, etching, or other types of processes to formelectrical circuitry or other desired structure on the substrates.Typical processes include but are not limited to thin film processesthat use a vacuum such as plasma etch or other etching processes,chemical vapor deposition (CVD), plasma vapor deposition (PVD),implantation such as ion implantation, metrology, rapid thermalprocessing (RTP), dry strip atomic layer deposition (ALD),oxidation/diffusion, forming of nitrides, vacuum lithography, epitaxy(EPI), wire bonder and evaporation or other thin film processes that usevacuum pressures. The processing stations 130 are communicably connectedto the transport chamber 125A, 125B, 125C, 125D, 125E, 125F in anysuitable manner, such as through slot valves SV, to allow substrates tobe passed from the transport chamber 125A, 125B, 125C, 125D, 125E, 125Fto the processing stations 130 and vice versa. The slot valves SV of thetransport chamber 125A, 125B, 125C, 125D, 125E, 125F may be arranged toallow for the connection of twin (e.g., more than one substrateprocessing chamber located within a common housing) or side-by-sideprocess stations 130T1-130T8, single process stations 130S and/orstacked process modules/load locks (FIGS. 1E and 1F). As furtherdescribed below, the substrate transport apparatus effects therepeatability and accuracy throughout the range and variance oftemperatures and pressures/vacuum that the substrate transport apparatusis subjected to corresponding to processes within the respectiveprocessing apparatus.

It is noted that the transfer of substrates to and from the processingstation 130 and load locks 102, 102A, 102B, 102C (or cassette C) coupledto the transfer chamber 125A, 125B, 125C, 125D, 125E, 125F may occurwhen one or more arms of the substrate transport apparatus 104 arealigned with a predetermined processing station 130 along an axis ofextension and retraction R of the substrate transport apparatus 104. Inaccordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiment one or moresubstrates may be transferred to a respective predetermined processingstation 130 individually or substantially simultaneously (e.g., such aswhen substrates are picked/placed from side-by-side or tandem processingstations as shown in FIGS. 1B, 1C, 1D and 1G-1K. In one aspect thesubstrate transport apparatus 104 may be mounted on a boom arm 143 (seee.g., FIGS. 1D and 1G-1I), where the boom arm 143 has a single boom linkor multiple boom links 121, 122, or linear carriage 144 such as thatdescribed in U.S. provisional patent application Nos. 61/892,849entitled “Processing Apparatus” and filed on Oct. 18, 2013 and61/904,908 entitled “Processing Apparatus” and filed on Nov. 15, 2013and International patent application number PCT/US13/25513 entitled“Substrate Processing Apparatus” and filed on Feb. 11, 2013, thedisclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties.

Referring now to FIG. 1L, a schematic plan view of a linear waferprocessing system 100G is shown where the tool interface section 2012 ismounted to a transport chamber module 3018 so that the tool interfacesection 2012 is facing generally towards (e.g., inwards) but is offsetfrom the longitudinal axis X of the transport chamber module 3018. Thetransport chamber module 3018 may be extended in any suitable directionby attaching other transport chamber modules 3018A, 3018I, 3018J tointerfaces 2050, 2060, 2070 as described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,398,355,previously incorporated herein by reference. Each transport chambermodule 3018, 3018A, 3018I, 3018J includes any suitable wafer transport2080, which may include one or more aspects of the disclosed embodimentdescribed herein, for transporting wafers throughout the processingsystem 100G and into and out of, for example, processing modules PM. Asmay be realized, each chamber module may be capable of holding anisolated or controlled atmosphere (e.g., N2, clean air, vacuum).

Referring to FIG. 1M, there is shown a schematic elevation view of anexemplary processing tool 100H such as may be taken along longitudinalaxis X of the linear transport chamber 416. In the aspect of thedisclosed embodiment shown in FIG. 1M, tool interface section 12 may berepresentatively connected to the linear transport chamber 416. In thisaspect, interface section 12 may define one end of the linear transportchamber 416. As seen in FIG. 1M, the linear transport chamber 416 mayhave another workpiece entry/exit station 412 for example at an oppositeend from interface station 12. In other aspects, other entry/exitstations for inserting/removing workpieces from the transport chambermay be provided. In one aspect, interface section 12 and entry/exitstation 412 may allow loading and unloading of workpieces from the tool.In other aspects, workpieces may be loaded into the tool from one endand removed from the other end. In one aspect, the linear transportchamber 416 may have one or more transfer chamber module(s) 18B, 18 i.Each chamber module may be capable of holding an isolated or controlledatmosphere (e.g., N2, clean air, vacuum). As noted before, theconfiguration/arrangement of the transport chamber modules 18B, 18 i,load lock modules 56A, and workpiece stations forming the lineartransport chamber 416 shown in FIG. 1M is merely exemplary, and in otheraspects the transport chamber may have more or fewer modules disposed inany desired modular arrangement. In the aspect shown, station 412 may bea load lock. In other aspects, a load lock module may be located betweenthe end entry/exit station (similar to station 412) or the adjoiningtransport chamber module (similar to module 18 i) may be configured tooperate as a load lock.

As also noted before, transport chamber modules 18B, 18 i have one ormore corresponding substrate transport apparatus 26B, 26 i, which mayinclude one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment describedherein, located therein. The substrate transport apparatus 26B, 26 i ofthe respective transport chamber modules 18B, 18 i may cooperate toprovide the linearly distributed workpiece transport system 420 in thetransport chamber. In this aspect, the substrate transport apparatus 26Bmay have a general SCARA arm configuration (though in other aspects thetransport arms may have any other desired arrangement as describedbelow).

In the aspect of the disclosed embodiment shown in FIG. 1M, the armsand/or end effectors of the transport apparatus 26B may be arranged toprovide what may be referred to as fast swap arrangement allowing thetransport to quickly swap wafers from a pick/place location. Thesubstrate transport apparatus 26B may have any suitable drive section(e.g., coaxially arranged drive shafts, side by side drive shafts,horizontally adjacent motors, vertically stacked motors, etc.), forproviding each arm with any suitable number of degrees of freedom (e.g.,independent rotation about shoulder and elbow joints with Z axismotion). As seen in FIG. 1M, in this aspect the modules 56A, 56, 30 imay be located interstitially between transfer chamber modules 18B, 18 iand define suitable processing modules, load lock(s), buffer station(s),metrology station(s) or any other desired station(s). For example theinterstitial modules, such as load locks 56A, 56 and workpiece station30 i, each have stationary workpiece supports/shelves 56S1, 56S2, 30S1,30S2 that cooperate with the substrate transport apparatus to effecttransport or workpieces through the length of the transport chamberalong linear axis X of the transport chamber. By way of example,workpiece(s) may be loaded into the linear transport chamber 416 byinterface section 12. The workpiece(s) may be positioned on thesupport(s) of load lock module 56A with the substrate transportapparatus 15 of the interface section. The workpiece(s), in load lockmodule 56A, may be moved between load lock module 56A and load lockmodule 56 by the substrate transport apparatus 26B in module 18B, and ina similar and consecutive manner between load lock 56 and workpiecestation 30 i with substrate transport apparatus 26 i (in module 18 i)and between station 30 i and station 412 with substrate transportapparatus 26 i in module 18 i. This process may be reversed in whole orin part to move the workpiece(s) in the opposite direction. Thus, in oneaspect, workpieces may be moved in any direction along axis X and to anyposition along the transport chamber and may be loaded to and unloadedfrom any desired module (processing or otherwise) communicating with thetransport chamber. In other aspects, interstitial transport chambermodules with static workpiece supports or shelves may not be providedbetween transport chamber modules 18B, 18 i. In such aspects, substratetransport apparatus of adjoining transport chamber modules may pass offworkpieces directly from one end effector or one transport arm to an endeffector or transport arm of another substrate transport apparatus tomove the workpiece through the transport chamber. The processing stationmodules may operate on the wafers through various deposition, etching,or other types of processes to form electrical circuitry or otherdesired structure on the wafers. The processing station modules areconnected to the transport chamber modules to allow wafers to be passedfrom the transport chamber to the processing stations and vice versa. Asuitable example of a processing tool with similar general features tothe processing apparatus depicted in FIG. 1D is described in U.S. Pat.No. 8,398,355, previously incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Referring now to FIGS. 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D in one aspect the substratetransport apparatus 104 includes at least one drive section (which mayalso be referred to as a drive system) 200, 200A, 200B, 200C and atleast one robot arm 300 (see FIG. 3A). It is noted that the substratetransport apparatus 104 illustrated is exemplary and in other aspectsmay have any suitable configuration substantially similar to thatdescribed in U.S. application Ser. No. 14/568,742 entitled “Substratetransport apparatus” and filed on Dec. 12, 2014, the disclosure of whichis incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. One or more robotarms 300 may be coupled to respective drive shafts of one of drivesections 200, 200A-200C as described herein, at any suitable connectionCNX so that the rotation of the drive shaft(s) effect movement of therespective transport arm(s) 300. As will be described below, in oneaspect, the transport arms 300 are interchangeable from a number ofdifferent interchangeable transport arms 300 so as to be swapped onetransport arm for another transport arm at the connection CNX with thedrive section.

The at least one drive section 200, 200A, 200B, 200C is mounted to anysuitable frame of the processing apparatus 100A-100H. In one aspect, asnoted above, the substrate transport apparatus 104 may be mounted to alinear slide 144 (FIG. 1C) or boom arm 143 in any suitable manner wherethe linear slide 144 and/or boom arm 143 has a drive sectionsubstantially similar to drive section 200, 200A, 200B, 200C describedherein. The at least one drive section 200, 200A, 200B, 200C may includea common drive section that includes a frame 200F that houses one ormore of a Z axis drive 270 and a rotational drive section 282. Aninterior 200FI of the frame 200F may be sealed in any suitable manner aswill be described below. In one aspect the Z axis drive may be anysuitable drive configured to move the transport arms 314, 315, 316, 317,318 along the Z axis. The Z axis drive is illustrated in FIG. 2A as ascrew type drive but in other aspects the drive may be any suitablelinear drive such as a linear actuator, piezo motor, etc. The rotationaldrive section 282 may be configured as any suitable drive section suchas, for example, a harmonic drive section. For example, the rotationaldrive section 282 may include any suitable number of coaxially arrangedharmonic drive motors 280, such as can be seen in FIG. 2B where thedrive section 282 includes, for example, three coaxially arrangedharmonic drive motors 280, 280A, 280B. In other aspects the drives ofdrive section 282 may be located side-by-side and/or in a coaxialarrangement. In one aspect the rotational drive section 282 shown inFIG. 2A includes one harmonic drive motor 280 for driving shaft 280Showever, in other aspects the drive section may include any suitablenumber of harmonic drive motors 280, 280A, 280B (FIG. 2B) correspondingto, for example, any suitable number of drive shafts 280S, 280AS, 280BS(FIG. 2B) in the coaxial drive system.

The harmonic drive motor 280 may have high capacity output bearings suchthat the component pieces of a ferrofluidic seal 276, 277, are centeredand supported at least in part by the harmonic drive motor 280 withsufficient stability and clearance during desired rotation T andextension R movements of the substrate transport apparatus 104. It isnoted that the ferrofluidic seal 276, 277 may include several parts thatform a substantially concentric coaxial seal as will be described below.In this example the rotational drive section 282 includes a housing 281that houses one or more drive motor 280 which may be substantiallysimilar to that described above and/or in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,845,250;5,899,658; 5,813,823; and 5,720,590, the disclosures of which areincorporated by reference herein in their entireties. The ferrofluidicseal 276, 277 can be toleranced to seal each drive shaft 280S, 280AS,280BS in the drive shaft assembly. In one aspect a ferrofluidic seal maynot be provided. For example, the drive section 282 may include driveshaving stators that are substantially sealed from the environment inwhich the transport arms operate while the rotors and drive shafts sharethe environment in which the arms operate. Suitable examples, of drivesections that do not have ferrofluidic seals and may be employed in theaspects of the disclosed embodiment include the MagnaTran® 7 andMagnaTran® 8 robot drive sections from Brooks Automation, Inc. which mayhave a sealed can arrangement as will be described below. It is notedthat drive shaft(s) 280S, 280AS, 280BS may also have a hollowconstruction (e.g., have a hole running longitudinally along a center ofthe drive shaft) to allow for the passage of wires 290 or any othersuitable items through the drive assembly for connection to, forexample, another drive section as described in U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/110,130 filed on Jul. 7, 2016 and published as U.S.2016/0325440 on Nov. 10, 2016, the disclosure of which is incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety, any suitable position encoders,controllers, and/or the at least one transport arm 314, 315, 316, 317,318, mounted to the drive section 200, 200A, 200B, 200C. As may berealized, each of the drive motors of drive section 200, 200A, 200B,200C may include any suitable encoders configured to detect a positionof the respective motor for determining a position of the end effector314E, 315E, 316E, 317E1, 317E1, 318E1, 318E2 of each transport arm 314,315, 316, 317, 318.

In one aspect the housing 281 may be mounted to a carriage 270C which iscoupled to the Z axis drive 270 such that the Z axis drive 270 moves thecarriage (and the housing 281 located thereon) along the Z axis. As maybe realized, to seal the controlled atmosphere in which the transportarms 314, 315, 316, 317, 318 operate from the interior 200FI of thedrive section 200, 200A, 200B, 200C (which may operate in an atmosphericpressure ATM environment), the drive section 200, 200A, 200B, 200C mayinclude one or more of the ferrofluidic seal 276, 277 described aboveand a bellows seal 275. The bellows seal 275 may have one end coupled tothe carriage 270C and another end coupled to any suitable portion of theframe 200F so that the interior 200FI of the frame 200F is isolated fromthe controlled atmosphere in which the transport arms 314, 315, 316,317, 318 operates.

In other aspects, as noted above, a drive having stators that are sealedfrom the atmosphere in which the transport arms operate without aferrofluidic seal, such as the MagnaTran® 7 and MagnaTran® 8 robot drivesections from Brooks Automation, Inc., may be provided on the carriage270C. For example, referring also to FIGS. 2C and 2D the rotationaldrive section 282 is configured so that the motor stators are sealedfrom the environment in which the transport arms operate while the motorrotors share the environment in which the transport arms operate.Referring to FIG. 2C a tri-axial rotational drive section 282 isillustrated. In this aspect there are three motors 280′, 280A′, 280B′,each having a rotor 280R′, 280AR′, 280BR′ coupled to a respective driveshaft 280S, 280AS, 280BS. Each motor 280′, 280A′, 280B′ also includes arespective stator 280S′, 280AS′, 280BS′ which may be sealed from theatmosphere in which the transport arm(s) operate by a respective canseal 280SC, 280ACS, 280BCS. As may be realized any suitableencoders/sensors may be provided for determining a position of the driveshaft (and the arm(s) which the drive shaft(s) operates). As may berealized, in one aspect the drive shafts of the motors illustrated inFIG. 2C may not allow for wire 290 feed-through while in other aspectsany suitable seals may be provided so that wires may be passed through,for example, hollow drive shafts of the motors illustrated in FIG. 2C.

Drive section 200C, illustrated in FIG. 2D, includes a four motor nestedor concentric configuration such that four drive shafts 126S1-126S4 arearranged coaxially and four motors 126M1-126M4 are arranged in a nestedcoaxial arrangement. For example, motor 126M1 is nested within (e.g., isradially surrounded by) motor 126M2 and motor 126M3 is nested withinmotor 126M4. The nested motors 126M1, 126M2 are coaxially arrangedrelative to nested motors 126M3, 126M4 so that nested motors 126M1,126M2 are disposed coaxially above nested motors 126M3, 125M4. However,it should be understood that the motors 126M1-126M4 may have anysuitable arrangement such as a stacked arrangement, a side by side, orconcentric arrangement as shown in FIG. 2D. In other aspects, the motorsmay be low profile planar or “pancake” style robot drive configurationwhere the motors are concentrically nested within each other in a mannersubstantially similar to that described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,008,884entitled “Substrate Processing Apparatus with Motors Integral to ChamberWalls” issued on Aug. 30, 2011 and U.S. Pat. No. 8,283,813 entitled“Robot Drive with Magnetic Spindle Bearings” issued on Oct. 9, 2012, thedisclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein in theirentireties.

While the motors are illustrated as rotary motors in other aspects anysuitable motor(s) and/or suitable drive transmission(s) may be used suchas, for example, a direct drive linear motor, linear piezo electricmotors, linear inductance motors, linear synchronous motors, brushed orbrushless linear motors, linear stepper motors, linear servo motors,reluctance motors, etc. Examples of suitable linear motors are describedin, for example, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/286,186 entitled“Linear Vacuum Robot with Z Motion and Articulated Arm” filed on Oct.31, 2011; Ser. No. 13/159,034 entitled “Substrate Processing Apparatus”filed on Jun. 13, 2011 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,901,539 entitled “Apparatusand Methods for Transporting and Processing Substrates” issued Mar. 8,2011; U.S. Pat. No. 8,293,066 entitled “Apparatus and Methods forTransporting and Processing Substrates” issued Oct. 23, 2012; U.S. Pat.No. 8,419,341 entitled “Linear Vacuum Robot with Z Motion andArticulated Arm” issued Apr. 16, 2013; U.S. Pat. No. 7,575,406 entitled“Substrate Processing Apparatus” issued Aug. 18, 2009; and U.S. Pat. No.7,959,395 entitled “Substrate Processing Apparatus” issued Jun. 14,2011, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference intheir entireties.

Referring now to FIGS. 1D and 1G-1J, the boom arm 143 may include anysuitable arm linkage mechanism(s). Suitable examples of arm linkagemechanisms can be found in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,578,649 issuedAug. 25, 2009, U.S. Pat. No. 5,794,487 issued Aug. 18, 1998, U.S. Pat.No. 7,946,800 issued May 24, 2011, U.S. Pat. No. 6,485,250 issued Nov.26, 2002, U.S. Pat. No. 7,891,935 issued Feb. 22, 2011, U.S. Pat. No.8,419,341 issued Apr. 16, 2013 and U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/293,717 entitled “Dual Arm Robot” and filed on Nov. 10, 2011 and Ser.No. 13/861,693 entitled “Linear Vacuum Robot with Z Motion andArticulated Arm” and filed on Sep. 5, 2013 the disclosures of which areall incorporated by reference herein in their entireties. In aspects ofthe disclosed embodiment, the at least one transport arm 300 of eachsubstrate transport apparatus 104, the boom arm 143 and/or the linearslide 144 may be derived from a conventional SCARA arm (selectivecompliant articulated robot arm) type design, which includes an upperarm, a band-driven forearm and a band-constrained end-effector, or froma telescoping arm or any other suitable arm design, such as a Cartesianlinearly sliding arm 314 (FIG. 3B). Suitable examples of transport armscan be found in, for example, U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/117,415 entitled “Substrate Transport Apparatus with Multiple MovableArms Utilizing a Mechanical Switch Mechanism” filed on May 8, 2008 andU.S. Pat. No. 7,648,327 issued on January 19, 100G, the disclosures ofwhich are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.

The operation of the transport arms 300 (where multiple arms areincluded in the substrate transport apparatus 104) may be independentfrom each other (e.g., the extension/retraction of each arm isindependent from other arms), may be operated through a lost motionswitch or may be operably linked in any suitable way such that the armsshare at least one common drive axis. Suitable examples of lost motionswitches are described in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,946,800 issuedon May 24, 2011 and U.S. Pat. No. 8,752,449 issued on Jun. 17, 2014, thedisclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties. Any suitable controller, such as controller 110, is coupledto the drive section 200, 200A, 200B, 200C in any suitable manner todrive the drive section 200, 200A, 200B, 200C so as to effect thearticulation of the transport arm(s) 300.

Referring now to FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3D, in one aspect, the transport arm300 of the transport apparatus 104 is a three link arm with an endeffector 310 having, for example, two or three degrees of freedom asshown in FIG. 3D where the transport arm 300 has a compact configurationwith a compact footprint compared to arm reach as will be describedherein. The transport arm 300 includes an upper arm link 302, a forearmlink 305, a third arm link 307 (also referred to as a truncated armlink), and an end effector 310 that are serially coupled to each otheras described below. While three arm links are illustrated in the figuresin other aspects the transport arm 300 may have more than three seriallycoupled arm links with the end effector being coupled to and supportedby the last serially coupled link (i.e., a wrist link arm that issubstantially similar to the third arm link 307) in a manner similar tothat described with respect to the third arm link 307. The end effector310 may be a double-ended end effector (such as shown in FIGS. 3B and4A) having at least one substrate holding location 310H1, 310H2 disposedon opposite sides of an axis of rotation (e.g., knuckle axis KX) of theend effector 310. For example, at least substrate holding location 310H1of end effector 310 is located on one side of the knuckle axis KX whileat least substrate holding location 310H2 of end effector 310 is locatedon the opposite of the knuckle axis KX, where the at least one substrateholding location 310H1, 310H2 on the opposite sides of the knuckle axisKX are on a common transfer plane TP (see FIG. 3A). In this aspect ofthe disclosed embodiment the transport apparatus 104 is driven by a twoaxis (e.g. two degree of freedom) drive section 91400 (FIG. 3C) suchthat rotation of the end effector 310 is slaved to the rotation of theforearm link 305 and rotation of the truncated arm link 307 is slaved torotation of the upper arm link 302 as will be described below, where oneaxis of the two axis drive section 91400 drives rotation of the upperarm link 302 and another axis of the two axis drive section 91400 drivesrotation of the forearm link 305. In other aspects, such as where thetransport apparatus 104 includes more than three arm links and an endeffector coupled thereto, the rotation of the arms may be slaved in anysuitable manner such that the arm extends, retracts, and rotates about ashoulder axis with only the two degree of freedom drive section 91400.It is noted that the two axis drive section 91400 may be substantiallysimilar to the drive systems described above but with only two driveaxes. For example, the drive section 91400 may include a first motor91403 and a second motor 91404 each including a respective stator91403S, 91404S and rotor 91403R, 91404R. The stators 91403S, 91404S maybe rotationally fixed and mounted to housing 91400H of the drive section91400. The rotor 91403R may be mounted to drive shaft 91402 and rotor91404R may be mounted to drive shaft 91401. While the drive shafts areshown as coaxial drive shafts and the motors are shown as being stackedone above the other in other aspects of the disclosed embodiment one ormore of the drive shafts and motors may have a side by side arrangementand be coupled to each other through suitable transmissions such asbelts, bands, gears, etc. The drive section 91400 may also include atleast one Z-axis drive 91312 for vertically moving the arm assembly ofthe transport apparatus 90100 as a unit or for vertically moving, forexample, each end effector 85104, 85105 vertically independent of theother end effector 85104, 85105.

Referring also to FIGS. 3B and 4A-4C, the upper arm link 302, theforearm link 305, and the truncated arm link 307 are unequal lengths.For example, the upper arm link 302 has a length L1 from joint center tojoint center (e.g., from the shoulder axis SX to the elbow axis EX), theforearm link 305 has a length L2 from joint center to joint center(e.g., from the elbow axis EX to the wrist axis WX), and the truncatedarm link 307 has a length L3 from joint center to joint center (e.g.,from wrist axis EX to knuckle axis KX) where, the length L3 is less thanthe length L1 and the length L1 is less than the length L2. In otheraspects the lengths L1-L3 (from joint center to joint center) may be anysuitable lengths. It is noted that while the shoulder axis SX and theknuckle axis KX may be illustrated as being coaxial with the transportarm 300 is in the retracted configuration (e.g., shown in FIG. 3B), inother aspects the shoulder axis SX and the knuckle axis KX may not becoaxial with the transport arm 300 in the retracted configuration notingthat the location of the knuckle axis KX relative to the shoulder axisSX may depend on a length L1-L3 of one or more of the upper arm link302, the forearm link 305, and the truncated arm link 307. The arm linklengths L1-L3 and a length L4 of the end effector (e.g., where thelength L4 is from the knuckle axis KX to a substrate holding location310H1, 310H2 of the end effector 310), and hence the transport arm 300,are configured to provide a long reach capable of accessing a deep setsubstrate holding station 500 (see FIGS. 3D and 5A) of a processingmodule 590, where the deep set substrate holding station 500 is disposedwithin the processing module 590 so that an offset distance DIST (i.e.,where the distance DIST is disposed along an axis of extension andretraction R of the transport arm 300 from an inside face 520 of thetransport chamber 580 gate (or slot) valve 521 port (or pass through)521P to the deep set substrate holding station 500) is consistent withand accommodated by extension of at least part of the forearm link 305length L2 holding the wrist joint (i.e., at the wrist axis WX), thetruncated arm link 307 length L3 and the length L4 of end effector 310from the knuckle axis KX (for a small footprint three link with endeffector transport arm 300) extending through the inside face of thetransport chamber gate valve port 590P. The long reach of the transportarm 300 is comparable to a four link SCARA arm (selective compliantarticulated robot arm) with the joint coupling the second and thirdlinks of the four link SCARA arm traversing through the port 251P of theslot valve 521.

The unequal lengths of the upper arm link 302, forearm link 305 andtruncated arm link 307, for example, may allow the swing diameter of thearm assembly, while in a retracted position, to remain the same as theswing diameter of a conventional arm assembly with an upper arm andforearm being of equal lengths. However, the unequal lengths of theupper arm link 302, forearm link 305 and truncated arm link 307 of thetransport arm 300 in the disclosed embodiment may allow, for example, agreater reach (i.e. a greater extension) than an arm having equal lengthlinks with the same swing diameter thus, increasing the reach tocontainment ratio of the transport arm 300. For example, the transportarm 300 (and hence the substrate transport apparatus 104) has a reachthat is a maximum reach of the substrate transport apparatus 104 for apredetermined swing diameter SD of the substrate transport apparatus 104with the upper arm link 302, the forearm link 305, the truncated armlink 307, and the end effector 310 in a retracted configuration (such asshown in FIG. 3D), which maximum reach extends the end effector 310, itsknuckle axis KX, and at least part of the truncated arm link includingthe wrist axis WX through the gate (or slot) valve 521 (see FIG. 5A) ofthe substrate processing module or apparatus 590. FIG. 3D shows theswing diameter SD (i.e. footprint illustrated by circle F) of thetransport arm 300. As may be realized, the swing diameter's value of aSCARA arm in general is determined, for example, by either thecombination of the substrate holder offset, wafer diameter, wrist radiusor the upper arm's elbow swing radius. Hence, for the same lengthsubstrate holder offset, a conventional SCARA arm and transport arm 300would have substantially the same footprint. For example, the forearmlink 305 of the disclosed embodiment is able to grow longer than theupper arm link 302 and the truncated arm link 307 to a maximum ratioestablished by the constraints of the system (e.g. the desiredfootprint). In addition, in aspects of the disclosed embodiment theupper arm link 302, forearm link 305, truncated arm link 307 and/or endeffector 310 may be independently rotatable and driven by separatemotors, such as of, e.g., drive sections 200B, 200C, as will bedescribed below. In alternate embodiments, one or more of the armassembly arm sections may not be independently rotatable, such as whereone or more of the arm links are slaved or driven by a respective degreeof freedom, such as of, e.g., drive sections 200, 200A, 200B, 200C. Asan example of all links being independently rotatable, and referring todrive section 200C, the upper arm link 302 may be coupled to the driveshaft 12651 in a manner similar to that described herein, the upper armlink 302 may be coupled to drive shaft 12652 through any suitabletransmission as described herein, the truncated arm link 307 may becoupled to drive shaft 12653 by any suitable transmission similar tothose described herein, and end effector 310 may be coupled to driveshaft 12564 by any suitable transmission similar to those describedherein.

Still referring to FIGS. 3A-4C, the upper arm link 302 is coupled to,for example, drive shaft 91402 about the shoulder axis SX so that thedrive shaft 91402 and the upper arm link 302 rotate as a unit. Theforearm link 305 is rotatably coupled to the upper arm link 302 aboutthe elbow axis EX. The third or truncated arm link 307 is rotatablycoupled to the forearm link 305 about the wrist axis WX. The endeffector 310 is rotatably coupled to the third or truncated arm link 307about the knuckle axis KX (i.e., the end effector 310 rotates withrespect to the third link 307) and is aligned with (e.g., a center pointof the substrate holding locations 310HA, 310H1 travel along the axis ofextension and retraction R—see FIG. 3B) the axis of extension andretraction R.

As described above, the end effector 310 is slaved to the rotation ofthe forearm link 305 by any suitable transmission 490. For example, afirst wrist pulley 470 is rotationally fixed to the forearm link 305about the wrist axis WX. A second wrist pulley 471 is rotatably coupledto the truncated arm link 307 about the knuckle axis KX and is driven bythe first wrist pulley 470 through one or more bands 472. The bands 472may be arranged at the same height/elevation (i.e., a single bandheight) in a manner similar to that shown in FIG. 4E so that the stackheight of the truncated arm link 307 and the forearm link 305 at andadjacent the wrist axis WX is less than a height of a port 521P of aslot valve 521 (see FIG. 5A) so that the wrist axis extends through theport 521P as described herein. The second wrist pulley 471 isrotationally fixed to the end effector 310 so that the second wristpulley 471 and the end effector rotate about the knuckle axis KX as aunit. A diameter ratio between the first wrist pulley 470 and the secondwrist pulley 471 is about 1:2. In other aspects, the first and secondwrist pulleys may have any suitable diameter ratio.

The forearm link is driven by the drive shaft 91401 through any suitabletransmission 475. For example, the drive shaft 91401 is coupled to afirst upper arm pulley 460 so that the first upper arm pulley 460rotates as a unit with the drive shaft 91401. A second upper arm pulley461 is rotationally coupled to the upper arm link 302 about the elbowaxis EX and is driven by the first upper arm pulley by band 462. Thesecond upper arm pulley 461 is rotationally fixed with the forearm link305 so that the forearm link 305 and the second upper arm pulley aredriven by the drive shaft 91401 and rotate as a unit about the elbowaxis EX. The diameter ratio between the first upper arm pulley 460 andthe second upper arm pulley 461 is about 1:1. In other aspects, thefirst upper arm pulley 460 and the second upper arm pulley 461 may haveany suitable diameter ratio.

The truncated arm link 307 is slaved to the upper arm by any suitabletransmission 480. For example, a first forearm pulley 450 isrotationally fixed to the upper arm link 302 so as to move as unit withthe upper arm link 302. A second forearm pulley 451 (e.g., a firstintermediate pulley) is rotatably coupled to the forearm link 305 atpulley axis PX which is located between the elbow axis EX and the wristaxis WX. The second forearm pulley 451 is driven by the first forearmpulley 450 through band 454. A third forearm pulley 452 (e.g., secondintermediate pulley) is coupled to the second forearm pulley 451 so asto rotate as a unit with the second forearm pulley 451 about the pulleyaxis PX. A fourth forearm pulley 453 is rotatably coupled to the forearmlink 305 about the wrist axis and is driven by the third forearm pulley452 by band 455. The fourth forearm pulley 453 is coupled to thetruncated arm link 307 so that the fourth forearm pulley 453 and thetruncated arm link 307 rotate as a unit about the wrist axis WX. Assuch, the truncated arm link 407 is slaved to the upper arm link 302 bydual sets of forearm pulleys. In other aspects, the dual sets of forearmpulleys may be coupled to a respective degree of freedom of drivesections 200A-200C in any suitable manner such as were the truncated armlink 307 is provided with independent rotation. Here the third ortruncated arm link 307 is rotated about 90° (e.g., +/−45° from the homepose) with the band 455 (i.e., disposed on a single band level) when thetransport arm 300 is bi-directionally extended on opposite sides of theshoulder axis SX as described herein, where radial extension of thetransport arm 300 is substantially symmetric on the opposite sides ofthe shoulder axis SX. The diameter ratio between the first forearmpulley 450 and the second forearm pulley 451 is about 1:2. In otheraspects, the first forearm pulley 450 and the second forearm pulley 451may have any suitable diameter ratio. The diameter ratio between thethird forearm pulley 452 and the fourth forearm pulley 453 is about 1:1.In one aspect, the diameter ratio between the first forearm pulley 450and the fourth forearm pulley 453 is about 1:1 and a ratio of therotation of the wrist about the wrist axis θ_(WRA) to the rotation ofthe forearm about the forearm axis θ_(FA) is about 1:2 (i.e., withrespect to extension and retraction along axis of extension andretraction R with, e.g., a two degree of freedom drive). In otheraspects, the third forearm pulley 452 and the fourth forearm pulley 453may have any suitable diameter ratio. In other aspects, there may beonly two forearm pulleys (e.g., the first forearm pulley 450 and thefourth forearm pulley 453 where the fourth forearm pulley 453 is drivenby the first forearm pulley 450). The dual sets of forearm pulleys(e.g., the first set being pulleys 450, 451 and the second set beingpulleys 452, 453) provide for a stiffer motion of at least the truncatedarm link 307 (compared to driving pulley 453 with pulley 450 directly)and for the use of singe band height for bands 454, 455 allowing fortaller bands to be used. The dual sets of forearm pulleys also providesfor pulley reduction (i.e., in rotational speed and increase in torque)within the forearm link 305 so as reduce a height and width of thetruncated arm link 307 for passage through the port 521P with the endeffector 310 as described herein. Here the wrist joint stack height H3is independent of (i.e., decoupled from) the reduction pulley height(e.g., the height of pulleys 450, 451, 452) and the wrist joint width497 is independent of (i.e., decoupled from) the reduction pulley majorradius/diameter (e.g., the radius 496R/diameter 496D of pulley 496). Thebands 454, 455, 462, 472 may be substantially similar to those describedin U.S. Pat. No. 5,682,795 issued on Nov. 4, 1997 and 5,778,730 issuedon Jul. 14, 1998 as well as those described in U.S. pre-grantpublication number 2018/0019155, published on Jan. 18, 2018 (applicationSer. No. 15/634,87), the disclosures of which are all incorporatedherein by reference in their entireties.

As can be seen in FIGS. 3A and 4A-4C, the truncated arm link 307 and theend effector 310 are configured so that height H1 of the end effector310 and a height H2 of the truncated arm link 307 is within the stackheight profile 366 of the wrist axis WX (e.g., the wrist axis WX (orwrist joint) shares a same elevation with the arm link coupled to thewrist axis WX (i.e., the wrist link arm which in one aspect is the thirdor truncated arm link 307)) so that a total stack height H3 of the endeffector 310 and wrist axis WX is sized to conform within a pass through(e.g., the port 520P) of the slot valve 521 (see, e.g., FIGS. 4C, 5A and5F). For example, the wrist axis WX is substantially included in theheight H2 of the wrist link arm (which in one aspect is the truncatedarm link 307). Similarly, the knuckle axis KX (or knuckle joint) isincluded into the wrist link arm and shares a same elevation with thewrist link arm (see, e.g., FIG. 4C). Referring to FIG. 4D, the wristaxis WX may share (i.e., is included at least partially within) a width498 of the end effector 310 so that the end effector 310 and the wristaxis WX jointly pass through port 521P of slot valve 521 in a commonpass (e.g., together side by side) in a straight line movement of theend effector. For example, a combined width 499 of the end effector 310and the wrist axis WX is less than a width 521W of the port 521P (seeFIGS. 5A and 5F) with the end effector 310 extending along the axis ofextension and retraction R.

In one aspect, the truncated arm link 307 includes tines 307T1, 307T2that form a slot 307S (see FIGS. 4B and 4C) that is sized so that atleast a portion of the end effector 310 is rotatably disposed within theslot 307S (see FIG. 4A) to effect the total stack height H3. In otheraspects, the end effector 310 may be mounted above (see FIG. 6A) orbelow the truncated arm link so as to effect the total stack height H3.As can also be seen, the rotation of the end effector 310 about theknuckle axis KX is constrained by the truncated arm link. It is notedthat the split bands 454A, 454B, 455A, 455B, 462A, 462B, 472A, 472B ofthe respective bands 454, 455, 462, 472 for driving a respective commonset of pulleys are located at the same height/elevation (i.e., a singleband height) as illustrated in FIG. 4E (see also FIG. 4D). FIG. 4Eillustrates band 455 as having band sections (e.g., split bands) 455A,455B disposed at a common height (i.e., that is the height of a singleband) on the pulley 452 (and pulley 453) to provide for the stack heightH3. Bands 454, 455, 462, 472 may have a similar arrangement so that thestack height of the transport arm 300 is minimized to provide for asmaller transfer chamber height compared to split bands disposed atdifferent heights on a common pulley.

As illustrated in, e.g., FIG. 3A, the forearm link 305 is tapered inheight between the elbow axis EX and the wrist axis WX. For example, theforearm link 305 may have a height of H10 adjacent or at the elbow axisEX and a height H11 adjacent or at the wrist axis WX. This taper of theforearm link 305 along with the configuration of the end effector 310and truncated arm link 307 provide for the height H3 that allows thetransport arm 300 to conform within a pass through (e.g., the port 520P)of the slot valve 521 (see FIG. 5A) as described above. The upper armlink 302 may also have a tapered height between the shoulder axis SX andthe elbow axis EX. For example, the upper arm link 302 may have a heightH12 adjacent or at the shoulder axis SX and a height H13 adjacent or atthe elbow axis EX so that the upper arm link 302 is tapered in height.The taper of the upper arm link 302 (e.g., mating tapered configuration)complements or is reciprocal to the taper (e.g., tapered configuration)of the forearm link 305 so that at least a portion of the upper arm link302 and a portion of the forearm link 305 are coplanar and so as toprovide a compact overall height H20 of the transport arm 300 comparedto a transport arm having arm links that are not tapered in height.

FIGS. 5A-5F are exemplary illustrations of a sequence of extending thetransport arm 300 between deep substrate holding stations 500 ofprocessing modules 590, 590A disposed on opposite sides of the shoulderaxis SX. Here the transport arm 300 is configured to bi-directionallyextend (e.g., from full extension on one side of the shoulder axis,through a home pose of the transport arm, to full extension on anopposite side of the shoulder axis—see FIGS. 5A-5F with the home poseillustrated in FIGS. 3B and 5D) along the axis of extension andretraction R (which may be aligned with the shoulder axis SX so as to aradial extension/retraction) on opposite sides of the shoulder axis SXwithout rotation of the transport arm 300 as a rotating unit about theshoulder axis SX (e.g., in the θ (theta) direction). The bi-directionalextension along the axis of extension and retraction R on opposite sidesof the shoulder axis is performed in in a substantially continuouslinear extension that is independent of rotation of the arm links 302,305, 307 as a rotating unit about the shoulder axis SX. The knuckle axisKX passes over a center of the shoulder axis SX as the transport arm 300bi-directionally extends on opposite sides of the shoulder axis SXwithout rotation of the arm links 302, 305, 307 as a rotating unit aboutthe shoulder axis SX (e.g., so that the transport arm has a compactconfiguration). For example, referring also to FIG. 4C, to extend thetransport arm 300 the drive shaft 91401 may be held stationary (orrotated in an opposite second direction RT2 relative to drive shaft91402) by the drive section 200 while the drive shaft 91402 is rotatedin a first rotation direction RT1 so as to cause rotation of the upperarm link 302 in the first rotation direction RT1. Holding the driveshaft 91401 stationary (or rotating the drive shaft 91401 in the seconddirection RT2) causes relative rotation between the forearm link 305 andthe upper arm link 302. The relative rotation between the forearm link305 and the upper arm link 302 causes first forearm pulley 450 to driverotation of the second forearm pulley 451, and hence drive rotation ofthe truncated arm link 307 as shown in the sequential illustrations inFIGS. 5A-5F. It is noted that in the home pose (see FIG. 3B) the thirdor truncated link 307 is substantially aligned with (e.g., generallycoincides with) the forearm link 305 so that the transport arm 300 has acompact configuration.

Referring to FIGS. 5A-5F, 7 and 8 , and exemplary method fortransporting substrates will be described. The substrate transportapparatus 104 is provided (FIG. 8 , Block 800). The extension orretraction of the upper arm link 302, the forearm link 305, thetruncated arm link 307, and the end effector 310 is effected with drivesystem 200 (or any of drive systems 200A-200C) so that the wrist axis WXextends through the port 521P of a slot valve 521 (FIG. 8 , Block 810).For example, as shown in FIGS. 5A-5F, the drive section 200 (ordepending on the number of degrees of freedom the transport arm 300 isdriven by, drive sections 200A-200C) is operated, as described herein,to extend the transport arm 300 along the axis of extension andretraction R on a first side of the shoulder axis SX (FIG. 7 , Block700) to pick or place a substrate S from/to the deep set substrateholding station 500. The transport arm 300 is extended by the drivesection 200 so that the wrist axis WX passes through the gate valve 251port 521P of processing module 590 and into the processing module 590 asshown in FIG. 5B (FIG. 7 , Block 710). Here the truncated arm link 307is rotated about the knuckle axis KX to provide the transport arm 300with an extended reach within the processing module 590 for accessing atleast the deep set substrate holding station 500. The substrate ispicked or placed from/to the deep set substrate holding station 500(FIG. 7 , Block 720) of processing module 590 in any suitable manner,such as by relative Z axis movement between the end effector 310 and thedeep set substrate holding station 500. The drive section 200 isoperated, as described herein, to retract the transport arm 300 from theprocessing module 590 as shown in FIGS. 5B and 5C (FIG. 7 , Block 730)along the axis of extension and retraction R. Without rotation of thetransport arm 300 as a unit about the shoulder axis SX, the drivesection 200 may be operated to extend the transport arm 300 along theaxis of extension and retraction R on a second opposite side of theshoulder axis SX as shown in FIGS. 5D and 5E (FIG. 7 , Block 740) topick or place a substrate to deep set substrate holding station 500 ofprocessing module 590A. Here the processing module 590A is disposed onan opposite side of the transport chamber 580 than processing module 590so that common axis of extension and retraction R extends through thedeep set substrate holding stations 500 of both processing modules 590,590A along a substantially straight line path. The transport arm 300 isextended by the drive section 200 so that the wrist axis WX passesthrough the gate valve 251 port 521P of processing module 590A and intothe processing module 590A as shown in FIG. 5B (FIG. 7 , Block 750).Here again, the truncated arm link 307 is rotated about the knuckle axisKX to provide the transport arm 300 with an extended reach within theprocessing module 590A for accessing at least the deep set substrateholding station 500. The substrate is picked or placed from/to the deepset substrate holding station 500 (FIG. 7 , Block 760) of processingmodule 590A in any suitable manner, such as by relative Z axis movementbetween the end effector 310 and the deep set substrate holding station500. The drive section 200 is operated, as described herein, to retractthe transport arm 300 from the processing module 590A in a mannersimilar to that shown in FIGS. 5B and 5C (FIG. 7 , Block 770) along theaxis of extension and retraction R. The transport arm 300 may be rotatedas a unit about the shoulder axis SX so that the transport arm 300extends along any other suitable axis of extension and retraction, suchas axis of extension and retraction R1 (see FIG. 5F), angled relative toaxis of extension and retraction R for transporting substrates to/fromany desired location accessible from the transport chamber 580.

As noted above, the first wrist pulley 470 is rotationally fixed to theforearm link 305 and the relative rotation between the truncated armlink 307 and the forearm link 305 causes the first wrist pulley 470 todrive rotation of the second wrist pulley 471 and hence drive rotationof the end effector 310. The relative rotations between the upper armlink 302, the forearm link 305 and the truncated arm link 307 are suchthat the end effector 310 is positioned in rotation about the knuckleaxis KS and along the axis of extension and retraction so that thesubstrate S held by the end effector 310 is placed at the deep setsubstrate station 500 in a desired predetermined rotational orientation(e.g., without a need for further rotation of the substrate S at thedeep set substrate station 500 to process the substrate). To rotate thetransport arm about the theta axis θ, the drive shafts 91401, 91402 arerotated in the same direction at substantially the same speed to changea direction of the extension/retraction of the end effector 310.

While the above example is provided for a two degree of freedom drivesystem, it should be understood that the a third degree of freedom (ormore) may be added to the drive section for actively driving the firstwrist pulley 470 so that the end effector 310 is independently drivenabout the knuckle axis KX by the third degree of freedom as illustratedin FIGS. 6A-6E. Here another transmission 670 (transmission 480 isomitted from FIG. 6B for clarity), which may be substantially similar tothe transmissions 475 and 480 (however the pulleys are not rotationallyfixed to the upper arm link 302 or forearm link 305), is providedthrough the upper arm link 302 and the forearm link 305 for coupling thefirst wrist pulley 470 to, for example, a third drive shaft (such asdrive shaft 280AS illustrated in FIG. 2C where drive shaft 280BS is akinto drive shaft 91401 and drive shaft 280S is akin to drive shaft 91402).Here the transmissions for driving the truncated arm link 307 and theend effector 310 may include low profile pulleys and bands as describedin U.S. pre-grant publication number 2018/0019155, published on Jan. 18,2018 (application Ser. No. 15/634,87), the disclosure of which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety. In other aspects, eachof the upper arm link 302, forearm link 305, truncated link 307, and endeffector 310 are independently driven in rotation by a respective degreeof freedom of the drive section (such as drive section 200C) asdescribed above.

In one aspect, the transport arm 300 may be substantially similar tothat described above, however the end effector may be mounted above orbelow the truncated arm link 307 so that rotation of the end effector310 is no longer constrained by the truncated arm link 307.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment asubstrate processing apparatus comprises: a frame; a transport apparatusconnected to the frame, the transport apparatus having an upper armlink, a forearm link rotatably coupled to the upper arm link about anelbow axis, at least a third arm link rotatably coupled to the forearmabout a wrist axis, and an end effector rotatably coupled to the thirdarm link about a knuckle axis; and at least a two degree of freedomdrive system operably connected to at least one of the upper arm link,the forearm link, and the third arm link for effecting extension andretraction of the end effector wherein a height of the end effector iswithin the stack height profile of the wrist axis so that a total stackheight of the end effector and wrist axis is sized to conform within apass through of a slot valve.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment alength of the third arm link is less than a length of the upper armlink, and the length of the upper arm link is less than a length of theforearm link.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodimentrotation of the end effector is slaved to rotation of the forearm linkand rotation of the third arm link is slaved to rotation of the upperarm link.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment theupper arm is rotatably coupled to the two degree of freedom drive systemat a shoulder axis; the end effector is a double-ended end effector; andthe transport apparatus is configured to bi-directionally extend onopposite sides of the shoulder axis without rotation of the transportapparatus as a unit about the shoulder axis.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment thethird arm link comprises a slot configured to receive at least a portionof the end effector so that the end effector is rotatably coupled to thethird arm link within the slot.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment theend effector is disposed above or below the third arm link.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment theforearm link is a tapered configuration; and the upper arm link has amating tapered configuration that is configured to compliment thetapered configuration of the forearm link so that at least a portion ofthe upper arm link and a portion of the forearm link are coplanar.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment thethird arm link is slaved to the upper arm link through dual sets offorearm pulleys disposed within the forearm.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment anaxis of extension and retraction of the transport apparatus passes overa center of a shoulder axis of rotation of the transport apparatus.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment thetransport apparatus is configured to bi-directionally extend on oppositesides of a shoulder axis of the transport apparatus, where radialextension of the transport arm is substantially symmetric on theopposite sides of the shoulder axis.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment theend effector remains aligned with an axis of extension and retractionthroughout a range of extension and retraction of the transportapparatus.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment thethird arm link is substantially aligned with the forearm link with thetransport apparatus in a home pose.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment thethird arm link is driven by a band transmission having a single bandheight.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment asubstrate processing apparatus comprises: a frame; a transport apparatusconnected to the frame, the transport apparatus having an upper armlink, a forearm link rotatably coupled to the upper arm link about anelbow axis, at least a third arm link rotatably coupled to the forearmabout a wrist axis, and an end effector rotatably coupled to the thirdarm link about a knuckle axis; and a drive system operably connected toat least one of the upper arm link, the forearm link, and the third armlink for effecting extension and retraction of the end effector whereinthe transport apparatus has a reach that is a maximum reach of thetransport apparatus for a predetermined swing diameter of the transportapparatus with the upper arm link, forearm link, third arm link, and endeffector in a retracted configuration, which maximum reach extends theend effector, its knuckle axis, and at least part of the third arm linkincluding the wrist axis through a slot valve of the substrateprocessing apparatus.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment thedrive system is a two degree of freedom drive system.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodimentrotation of the end effector is slaved to rotation of the forearm linkand rotation of the third arm link is slaved to rotation of the upperarm link.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment thedrive system is a three degree of freedom drive system.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment thedrive system is a four degree of freedom drive system.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment alength of the third arm link is less than a length of the upper armlink, and the length of the upper arm link is less than a length of theforearm link.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment theupper arm is rotatably coupled to the two degree of freedom drive systemat a shoulder axis; the end effector is a double-ended end effector; andthe transport apparatus is configured to bi-directionally extend onopposite sides of the shoulder axis without rotation of the transportapparatus as a unit about the shoulder axis.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment thethird arm link comprises a slot configured to receive at least a portionof the end effector so that the end effector is rotatably coupled to thethird arm link within the slot.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment theend effector is disposed above or below the third arm link.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment theforearm link is a tapered configuration; and the upper arm link has amating tapered configuration that is configured to compliment thetapered configuration of the forearm link so that at least a portion ofthe upper arm link and a portion of the forearm link are coplanar.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment anaxis of extension and retraction of the transport apparatus passes overa center of a shoulder axis of rotation of the transport apparatus.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment thetransport apparatus is configured to bi-directionally extend on oppositesides of a shoulder axis of the transport apparatus, where radialextension of the transport arm is substantially symmetric on theopposite sides of the shoulder axis.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment theend effector remains aligned with an axis of extension and retractionthroughout a range of extension and retraction of the transportapparatus.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment thethird arm link is substantially aligned with the forearm link with thetransport apparatus in a home pose.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment thethird arm link is driven by a band transmission having a single bandheight.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment amethod for transporting substrates comprises: providing a transportapparatus connected to the frame, the transport apparatus having anupper arm link, a forearm link rotatably coupled to the upper arm linkabout an elbow axis, at least a third arm link rotatably coupled to theforearm about a wrist axis, and an end effector rotatably coupled to thethird arm link about a knuckle axis; and effecting extension orretraction of the upper arm link, the forearm link, the third arm link,and the end effector with a two degree of freedom drive system so thatthe wrist axis extends through a pass through of a slot valve; wherein aheight of the end effector is within the stack height profile of thewrist axis so that a total stack height of the end effector and wristaxis is sized to conform within the pass through of the slot valve.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment thetransport apparatus has a reach that is a maximum reach of the transportapparatus for a predetermined swing diameter of the transport apparatuswith the upper arm link, forearm link, third arm link, and end effectorin a retracted configuration, which maximum reach extends the endeffector, its knuckle axis, and at least part of the third arm linkincluding the wrist axis through the slot valve of the substrateprocessing apparatus.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment themethod further comprises bi-directionally extending the upper arm link,the forearm link, the third arm link, and the end effector on oppositesides of the shoulder axis without rotation of the transport apparatusas a unit about the shoulder axis.

It should be understood that the foregoing description is onlyillustrative of the aspects of the disclosed embodiment. Variousalternatives and modifications can be devised by those skilled in theart without departing from the aspects of the disclosed embodiment.Accordingly, the aspects of the disclosed embodiment are intended toembrace all such alternatives, modifications and variances that fallwithin the scope of the appended claims. Further, the mere fact thatdifferent features are recited in mutually different dependent orindependent claims does not indicate that a combination of thesefeatures cannot be advantageously used, such a combination remainingwithin the scope of the aspects of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A substrate processing apparatus comprises: aframe; a transport apparatus connected to the frame, the transportapparatus having an upper arm link, a forearm link rotatably coupled tothe upper arm link about an elbow axis, at least a third arm linkrotatably coupled to the forearm link about a wrist axis, and an endeffector rotatably coupled to the third arm link about a knuckle axis;and at least a two degree of freedom drive system operably connected toat least one of the upper arm link, the forearm link, and the third armlink effecting, with two degrees of freedom of the drive system,extension and retraction of the end effector in a horizontal planewherein a height of the end effector is within a total stack heightprofile defined by a stack height of the forearm link and the at leastthe third arm link at and adjacent the wrist axis so that the totalstack height at and adjacent the wrist axis is at least in partcoincident with the end effector, and the total stack height is sized toconform within a pass through of a slot valve.
 2. The substrateprocessing apparatus of claim 1, wherein a length of the third arm linkis less than a length of the upper arm link, and the length of the upperarm link is less than a length of the forearm link.
 3. The substrateprocessing apparatus of claim 1, wherein rotation of the end effector isslaved to rotation of the forearm link and rotation of the third armlink is slaved to rotation of the upper arm link.
 4. The substrateprocessing apparatus of claim 1, wherein: the upper arm link isrotatably coupled to the two degree of freedom drive system at ashoulder axis; the end effector is a double-ended end effector; and thetransport apparatus is configured to bi-directionally extend on oppositesides of the shoulder axis without rotation of the transport apparatusas a unit about the shoulder axis.
 5. The substrate processing apparatusof claim 1, wherein the third arm link comprises a slot configured toreceive at least a portion of the end effector so that the end effectoris rotatably coupled to the third arm link within the slot.
 6. Thesubstrate processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the end effector isdisposed above or below the third arm link.
 7. The substrate processingapparatus of claim 1, wherein: the forearm link is a taperedconfiguration; and the upper arm link has a mating tapered configurationthat is configured to compliment the tapered configuration of theforearm link so that at least a portion of the upper arm link and aportion of the forearm link are coplanar.
 8. The substrate processingapparatus of claim 1, wherein the third arm link is slaved to the upperarm link through dual sets of forearm pulleys disposed within theforearm link.
 9. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1, whereinan axis of extension and retraction of the transport apparatus passesover a center of a shoulder axis of rotation of the transport apparatus.10. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the transportapparatus is configured to bi-directionally extend on opposite sides ofa shoulder axis of the transport apparatus, where radial extension ofthe transport arm is substantially symmetric on the opposite sides ofthe shoulder axis.
 11. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1,wherein the end effector remains aligned with an axis of extension andretraction throughout a range of extension and retraction of thetransport apparatus.
 12. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1,wherein the third arm link is substantially aligned with the forearmlink with the transport apparatus in a home pose.
 13. The substrateprocessing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the third arm link is driven bya band transmission having a single band height.
 14. A substrateprocessing apparatus comprising: a frame; a transport apparatusconnected to the frame, the transport apparatus having an upper armlink, a forearm link rotatably coupled to the upper arm link about anelbow axis, at least a third arm link rotatably coupled to the forearmlink about a wrist axis, and an end effector rotatably coupled to thethird arm link about a knuckle axis; and a drive system operablyconnected to at least one of the upper arm link, the forearm link, andthe third arm link for effecting extension and retraction of the endeffector wherein the transport apparatus has a reach that is a maximumreach of the transport apparatus for a predetermined swing diameter ofthe transport apparatus with the upper arm link, forearm link, third armlink, and end effector in a retracted configuration, which maximum reachextends the end effector, its knuckle axis, and at least part of thethird arm link including the wrist axis through a slot valve of thesubstrate processing apparatus.
 15. The substrate processing apparatusof claim 14, wherein the drive system is a two degree of freedom drivesystem.
 16. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 15, whereinrotation of the end effector is slaved to rotation of the forearm linkand rotation of the third arm link is slaved to rotation of the upperarm link.
 17. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 14, whereinthe drive system is a three degree of freedom drive system.
 18. Thesubstrate processing apparatus of claim 14, wherein the drive system isa four degree of freedom drive system.
 19. The substrate processingapparatus of claim 14, wherein a length of the third arm link is lessthan a length of the upper arm link, and the length of the upper armlink is less than a length of the forearm link.
 20. The substrateprocessing apparatus of claim 14, wherein: the upper arm link isrotatably coupled to the drive system at a shoulder axis; the endeffector is a double-ended end effector; and the transport apparatus isconfigured to bi-directionally extend on opposite sides of the shoulderaxis without rotation of the transport apparatus as a unit about theshoulder axis.
 21. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 14,wherein the third arm link comprises a slot configured to receive atleast a portion of the end effector so that the end effector isrotatably coupled to the third arm link within the slot.
 22. Thesubstrate processing apparatus of claim 14, wherein the end effector isdisposed above or below the third arm link.
 23. The substrate processingapparatus of claim 14, wherein: the forearm link is a taperedconfiguration; and the upper arm link has a mating tapered configurationthat is configured to compliment the tapered configuration of theforearm link so that at least a portion of the upper arm link and aportion of the forearm link are coplanar.
 24. A method for transportingsubstrates comprising: providing a transport apparatus connected to aframe, the transport apparatus having an upper arm link, a forearm linkrotatably coupled to the upper arm link about an elbow axis, at least athird arm link rotatably coupled to the forearm link about a wrist axis,and an end effector rotatably coupled to the third arm link about aknuckle axis; and effecting, with two degrees of freedom of a two degreeof freedom drive system, extension or retraction of the upper arm link,the forearm link, the third arm link, and the end effector in ahorizontal plane, on opposite sides of a shoulder axis of the transportapparatus and crossing over the shoulder axis so that the wrist axisextends through a pass through of a slot valve of a substrate processingapparatus on each of the opposite sides to one or more of pick and placesubstrates; wherein a height of the end effector is within a stackheight profile of the wrist axis so that a total stack height of the endeffector and wrist axis is sized to conform within the pass through ofthe slot valve.
 25. The method of claim 24, wherein the transportapparatus has a reach that is a maximum reach of the transport apparatusfor a predetermined swing diameter of the transport apparatus with theupper arm link, forearm link, third arm link, and end effector in aretracted configuration, which maximum reach extends the end effector,its knuckle axis, and at least part of the third arm link including thewrist axis through the slot valve of the substrate processing apparatus.26. The method of claim 24, further comprising bi-directionallyextending the upper arm link, the forearm link, the third arm link, andthe end effector on opposite sides of the shoulder axis of the transportapparatus without rotation of the transport apparatus as a unit aboutthe shoulder axis.
 27. The method of claim 24, wherein the third armlink is slaved to the upper arm link through dual sets of forearmpulleys disposed within the forearm link.